


Tremors

by Book_freak



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Family, Gen, Post-What they Become, Spoilers, Team Bonding, quake - Freeform, super powers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-17
Updated: 2014-12-18
Packaged: 2018-03-01 21:26:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,757
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2788307
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Book_freak/pseuds/Book_freak
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Aftermath of S02E10 - What They Become. Skye is afraid of her powers and afraid that the team will leave her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so this was INTENDED as a one shot, but it kind of turned into a three shot. Somehow. I don't know how these things happen. All I know is that Skye needs a hug.

Skye had gone AWOL and the team was in a frenzy. The entire city had collapsed on them. Mack was unconscious, and God knew what state he would be in when he woke. Fitz, Simmons and Coulson had made it out with only superficial injuries, and Hunter and Bobbi weren’t far enough in to begin with.

They had gotten out readily enough, made it back to the Bus. No one even questioned leaving until they found Skye though.

Coulson’s injuries were really quite severe, and Simmons had insisted that he stay behind. He had tried to get up anyway, but found May in his way. “I’ll find her.” She had said firmly, “You need to rest. Run back end for once in your life.”

None of them had the first clue what had happened to Skye.

Tripp was dead. May felt her chest seize up as she remembered that fact. They had found his clothes, and Simmons had run tests on the hardened remains, confirming it. She had cried. They had all cried, except May.

She had a mission to complete.

There had been tremors in San Juan ever since the city had collapsed, aftermaths of the initial earthquake apparently. They were all unnoticeable to anything but seismographs, but at the same time something was clearly off.

Fitz and Simmons had kept track of them, sending the information to May’s tablet as she tried to track Skye around the city. She wasn’t letting herself consider the possibility that something had happened to her.

“May, there’s something.” Simmons’ voice came over her comms.

“You found Skye?” She asked.

“No, but it’s something odd.”

“What is it?” She stepped into a back alley as two Hydra agents walked past. Basic training, they didn’t spot her when she was dressed in civilian clothes for Gods sakes.

“These tremors. They’re reaching out.” May heard the sounds of a keyboard clacking. “They’re like a wave, stronger the closer to their source they are.”

“And what’s their source?”

More clacking. “I can’t be sure exactly.” She said. “But they seem to be coming from a stretch of caves nearby.”

“Civilians?”

“No, not at this time of year. Tours would usually begin yesterday, but with the tremors going on, those kind of activities are on hold.”

May nodded. “I’ll check it out.”

Simmons sighed. “I’m going to tell you it’s too dangerous.” She said. “And you’re going to ignore me completely and go anyway.”

“I’ll be fine.”

“We’ve lost enough people recently May, we can’t lose you too.”

“I’ll be careful.”

“Good. If you haven’t been back in contact in two hours I’m sending Bobbi and Hunter after you.”

“Copy that.”

May had no idea what she thought she would find in the caves by the sea. Most of them had nothing in them. Two had some seagulls. After half an hour of climbing around she hit gold. “Skye.” She was curled into the foetal position deep within a sandstone cave. It wasn’t dark, but it was big.

The girl looked up. She was shaking violently and tears stained her face. When she saw May she scrambled backwards, the sandstone crumbling slightly at her feet and an ominous quake shaking the cave. “No- no, May, you can’t be here.” She hiccuped. “You’ve gotta go.”

“I’m not going anywhere without you.” She tried to get closer to her student, but Skye’s voice stopped her.

“NO!”

May stopped moving, holding her hands up in a show of peace. “Okay.” She said, “I’m not coming any closer until you want me to.”

“You have to leave, please.” Skye sobbed, burying her head in her hands.

“Not happening.” Skye’s trembling did not go away and a slight tremor in the earth send loose sand shifting. “Skye, we have to get out of here, the tremors could get worse.”

“I can’t- I-I- tried.”

“You got in here, you can get out.” May extended her hand. “I can help.”

Skye shook her head. “I-I don’t know how to make it _stop.”_

“I don’t know what you’re talking about Skye.”

The girl’s tears started again. “I-I can’t.” She whispered, burying her head in her knees again. The tremors returned.

“Hey.” May said gently. “Remember how we start tai chi?”

Skye gulped, not looking up. “Breathing.”

May nodded. “Breathe.” She instructed.

As Skye began to do that, May noted that the miniature earthquakes had lessened slightly. Odd.

“Can I come over?”

Skye curled in on herself more, brown eyes wide.

“I won’t hurt you.”

A stronger tremor sent some rocks toppling over, across the cave. “That’s not the problem.” Skye said softly. A moment later she shrieked as the rock between them shook with the strongest quake yet, cracking the cave floor.

May saw the crack between them widening and her eyes fixed on Skye.

“No-” Was all Skye got out before her SO had cleared the gap, jumping over to her. Both their heads snapped around to the cave entrance as several large rocks fell down, blocking the entrance.

When May turned back to Skye she found that the younger woman had moved as far away from her as she could get. “Skye.” She said softly, extending a hand. “Tell me what happened.” It was dark now, but cracks in the rock let in slivers of sunlight.

Skye’s breathing was back to being jumpy and her eyes were glued to the pile of rocks obstructing the entrance. “How are you gonna get out?”

_“We_ are going to get out when Simmons sends Hunter and Bobbi after me in about an hour.” May said firmly, leaving no room for argument. She moved towards Skye until she was next to her. “Tell me what happened.”

Whatever it was, it was bad. Skye was in pieces, broken almost completely. May had never really seen that look on somebody else. “T-Tripp.” She mumbled, hot tears stinging her eyes. May put one arm around her gently. “H-he’s _dead.”_

“I know.” Her voice sounded choked and when Skye looked at her she saw that May was crying too.

May didn’t cry. She never cried. Even when Coulson was captured, even when Ward had betrayed them, she didn’t cry. She fought. This just meant that it was real. Tripp was dead, and there was nothing to be done. “It’s my fault.”

“I don’t believe that.” May wiped her eyes with the heel of her hand. “What happened?”

Skye was trembling again, as was the cave. “I-I followed Raina.” She said, her knees curling up to her chest. “There was a- a chamber, in the temple, and I followed her there.” Her head was bowed. “She- had the obelisk, said we’d find out what we become or something. Tripp- he- he came in after me, to get me out, but the door sealed.” She was becoming more and more panicked, remembering. “T-the obelisk, it opened, and sent out this- wave. Me and Raina started to turn to stone, but he was _okay.”_ Skye’s hands were clasping over her head. “He smashed it.” She sobbed. “To save me, he broke it, but then he turned to stone, and it just peeled off me like a shell.”

May tightened her arm around Skye, failing not to cry. “It wasn’t your fault.”

“I-I _broke_ him. We might have been able to turn him back, b-but he just crumbled, and I _did_ that.”

“What do you mean?”

Skye didn’t look up. “T-the obelisk, my- Cal, he said it wakes up what’s inside. It woke up something in me, a-and now I can’t make it stop.” The ground beneath them shook again and May started to realise what Skye meant.

“The earthquakes?”

Whether consciously or not, Skye was leaning away from her. “I can feel them.” She whispered. “Inside me, like they’re trying to get out, and I-I can’t make it stop.”

May stared at her, stunned.

“I know it sounds crazy,” Skye said, “I just- I know it’s me.”

“It does sound crazy.” May acknowledged. “So does an alien city under San Juan. So does a lot of the things we’ve been dealing with lately.”

Skye shivered and the earthquake accompanying it did seem to mirror her action with a strange accuracy. “You should go.” She said softly. “There’s a gap up there, you can climb out and go.”

“No.”

“I’m dangerous May, just leave.” She sounded cold. May knew exactly what she was doing. Telling her to leave, because then when she did it was because Skye told her to, and it wasn’t as bad as being left behind. She had done the same, once upon a time.

“I’m more dangerous than you are.” She matched Skye’s stubbornness and then some. “I will drag you out of this cave if I have to. I’m not losing anyone else.”

“Please.” May wondered if Skye even knew what she was asking for now.

“I’m not leaving you Skye. I won’t let you go again.”

“He said you’d leave!” It burst from her along with a quake that sent some of the rocks tumbling, and May knew that Skye didn’t mean to let it out.

“Who said?” One of them had to keep their heads.

Skye shuddered again, the cave wall extending the action. “M-my dad. He said that I was gonna change, and that no one’d understand, and everyone would leave me.”

Melinda resolved then that one day she would meet this man, and on that day she would make him regret everything he had done to Skye. “He was right about something.” Skye looked up at her, eyes full of tears. “I don’t understand what’s happened to you. I don’t know how to help you control this. But that doesn’t mean that I won’t try. And no matter what, I’m not going to leave you. None of us are.” She smiled a little. “We’re SHIELD, remember? Dealing with unusual occurrences is our job.”

A few tears slipped past her eyes and Skye threw herself into May’s arms, hugging her tightly. “Thank you.” She choked out, burying her face in May’s shoulder.

May wrapped her arms around the younger woman, noting that the tremors in the earth had abetted. She didn’t say anything. She didn’t need to. One hand went up to gently stroke Skye’s hair, like she remembered her mother doing for her when she was upset. She loved this girl so damn much. When had that even happened?

“We should get out of here.” May said, once Skye had calmed down a little. “Back to the Bus so you can get some sleep.” Because she obviously hadn’t slept since this ordeal had begun.

“The others-”

“Don’t worry about them.” May interrupted firmly. “You’re exhausted and a complete mess. I’ll deal with it.”

Skye squeezed her tighter still. That was what May did. She dealt with things. She didn’t say that she cared, she would just do things for people and often not admit to it. She had lost track of the number of times that Coulson had sarcastically noted that he thought he still had paperwork to do while May suppressed a smile. Or the times that after a bad day, May would come to sit in the common area with her, bringing two cups of tea and a couple of books.

The hacker felt tears well up again, but they were the good kind. The kind that realised that she had found a place. “Okay.” She said softly, pulling away. “Let’s go.”

May smiled ever so slightly and stood, extending a hand to help Skye up. Both their heads turned towards the crack in the ground and the obstructed exit. “Not a problem to jump.” May said, and it was true that the crack was barely a meter wide.

Skye nodded.

“I’ll go first, okay?”

She nodded again. They could do this. May jumped the distance, landing perfectly on the other side. Skye followed, landing less gracefully, but it got the job done.

May’s face tightened when she observed the rocks around the cave entrance. “They don’t look very stable.” She mused, carefully climbing onto one of the larger ones, testing the nearby rocks to see if they would shift.

“That’s not safe.” Skye said, worry painted across her features.

“Do you have a better idea?” Skye had learned quickly that May did ask those kind of questions seriously.

“I-I could... I could try, I guess.”

May turned, meeting her eyes. “You think you can do it?”

Skye nodded. “Yeah, I think so.”

May nodded too, climbing down and away from the entrance. She trusted Skye, and it was something that Skye treasured.

The younger woman focused on her breathing, like in meditation, feeling the vibrations in her hands build gradually until they reached their peak and she directed them at the landslide trapping them.

The rocks crumbled all at once, loudly falling into a pile of rubble that flooded in all directions. Both women were hit with a large burst of salty air and sunlight.

May’s eyes were wide at the display. After a moment, she dryly said, “I think that might come in handy.”

Skye eyed her hands hesitantly. “I don’t know.”

May put one hand on her shoulder. “Tripp wouldn’t want you to be afraid of yourself.” When Skye was silent she said, “It wasn’t your fault.”

Skye nodded. She knew that it was true, but he was still gone. A small tremor had the rubble settling flatter. “We should go.”

Melinda nodded, “Come on.” She said, carefully climbing across the uneven ground into the light, Skye right behind her. They would get through this. As a team.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Heeeere's chapter two. Only one more after this, I'll probably publish that one some time tomorrow, it's almost done.

Once the two had successfully climbed back within range of the comms, May called back. “Simmons.” She said, lightly touching her earcom.

“Oh thank goodness.” The scientist’s voice sounded, clear as a bell. “I was about to send them after you. She’s safe, it’s okay.” May heard her say to someone else in the room. “Did you find Skye?”

Melinda nodded, looking to her student. “Yes, I found her. She’s okay.”

“Oh, excellent. Director Coulson can stop worrying so much.”

“Tell him we’re on our way back.”

“I will.” Simmons promised.

Before she could disconnect, May said, “Jemma?” She glanced at Skye, who was following her through the streets, but looked half asleep already. Softly, so that Skye didn’t overhear, “Maybe get something to help Skye sleep? She’s exhausted.”

Concern painted Jemma’s voice. “But she’s alright?”

“She’s not hurt. I need to see you Fitz and Coulson when we get back.”

“That doesn’t sound good.”

May looked to her student again. “I’ll explain when we get there.”

“Okay.” Jemma said softly. “I’ll tell the others not to bother her when you get back.”

May nodded. “Good. I’ll see you soon.” She ended the call.

“If I’m exhausted then I don’t really need anything to help me sleep.”

May turned to look at Skye. “It’ll keep the nightmares away, trust me.”

Skye nodded. “Okay. Nightmares could be bad, I don’t wanna get set off again.”

“Nightmares are always bad.” Skye suddenly remembered May bringing her a glass of water and some pills after particularly bad days, like when she had to interrogate Ward. She wasn’t just doing this to help with whatever power Skye had developed.

“Yeah.” They both spied the Hydra agent at the same time and ducked into an alley. “We could take him.” Skye said.

May rolled her eyes. “Obviously.” Skye grinned a little, “But he’s probably got superiors. We take him out and they know we’re still around.”

“Good point.”

Their eyes met and Skye knew they had both had the same idea. She took a deep breath, preparing, then released it angrily, stomping out onto the street. “No mum, I don’t wanna go hang gliding! _God,_ twenty years in and you still can’t remember that I’m scared of heights?”

May followed her, the empty-headed but well meaning mother. She might have gone for vapid and distracted, but that didn’t match her black clad beaten up look. “I just thought it would be a fun thing to do together. If you don’t want to that’s fine, I’ll just go alone.” Now she was looking like a kicked puppy.

“You can’t guilt trip me into doing this!” She stormed past the oblivious Hydra agent. She was gratified to notice that he was avoiding looking at them. Family fights did that. “There’s a million things to do here and you go for the one thing that I would hate!”

“They say that facing your fear is the best way to get past it sweetie!” A term of endearment that had no business coming from Melinda May’s mouth.

“Fine! See if I hold your hand next time you get a shot!” She walked rapidly along, resolutely ignoring her SO.

“Jess!” May followed her, but once they were around the corner they dropped the act. “Nice upset kid. Next time you can be more subtle though.”

Skye rolled her eyes. “Sure thing _sweetie.”_

May grinned and they continued to walk in silence.

It took them less than an hour to make their way back to the Bus, ensuring that they weren’t followed.

Skye eyed the open cargo door apprehensively. She was slumped with exhaustion, legs shaking from just holding her up.

“It’s okay.” May said gently. “I’ll handle it for now.”

Skye nodded quietly. She couldn’t stop feeling like she had done something wrong. Tripp was dead because he had gone to help her.

“Skye.” May put one hand on her shoulder. “It wasn’t your fault.”

Skye nodded again, but a small tremor in the ground beneath them showed that she didn’t believe it.

“Say that it wasn’t your fault.”

Skye took a couple of deep breaths, trying not to start crying again. “I-It wasn’t my fault.” She said shakily, but it honestly did help a little.

May smiled gently. “Good. Come on. You need to sleep.”

They walked up the ramp together and found Simmons waiting for them in the garage. “Skye!” She exclaimed upon seeing them, and hugged her friend tightly, “Oh thank goodness, we were so worried!”

“Sorry.” Skye mumbled, barely returning the hug.

Jemma pulled away. “I brought you an antihistamine.” She said. “It should help you sleep. There are also some clothes in your old bunk.”

The hacker nodded. “Thanks.” She said softly, forcing a smile. Jemma handed her a glass of water and the tablet, which Skye took immediately.

“I’ll see you and the others in Coulson’s office in ten minutes.” May said, following Skye.

Now Jemma _knew_ something was wrong. There was always something wrong when May looked more like a bouncer than an agent.

The two encountered Hunter and Bobbi on their way to Skye’s bunk, and May was pretty sure that they would ask questions if they hadn’t seen the look on her face.

“Sleep.” She said firmly when they reached Skye’s bunk. “I’ll explain to Fitzsimmons and Coulson. It’s up to you if you want anyone else to know.”

Skye nodded sleepily. She had been nodding a lot, she noted. But she knew she wasn’t up to making that decision now. “Thanks.” She said, because there was really no stronger word.

“You’re welcome.” Because there was no other reply.

Skye barely had the presence of mind to remove her boots before crawling into her bunk. May gently closed the door and fixed her eyes Hunter and Bobbi on her way to the infirmary. “If you wake her up you’ll have to answer to me.” She said, though honestly it was mostly directed at Hunter.

“Yes ma’am.” He said, only half sarcastically.

Bobbi only nodded, but May could see the worry for Skye in her eyes. “And stay out of the office until I say so.”

“Copy that.” Bobbi said, “Come on,” She pulled on Lance’s arm, “We can take turns on the punching bag downstairs.”

“Yes _ma’am_.” Much happier now.

May rolled her eyes and went to the infirmary to face her team. This was going to be a long one.

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

“So Skye can make earthquakes now?” Coulson was sitting in his office chair, but he was pretty severely bruised and battered.

“Yes.” May, Fitz and Simmons had dragged chairs over to the desk, sitting in a circle.

“That’s what the tremors have been?” Simmons asked, a little in awe. “Skye?”

May nodded. “She was there when Tripp...” She didn’t need to finish the sentence. “And a lot of gifted’s powers are connected to their emotions.”

“Sh-she’s okay though?” Fitz asked, eyes filled with concern.

“She’s stable.” May assured, “And coping, but... She doesn’t know what to do.”

“None of us do.” Coulson said, one hand rubbing his eyes. “I-I mean, she can control earth?”

“Possibly.” It was Simmons who answered, “I mean it could be something else entirely.”

“Yeah, could be making vibrations, like a sonic wave.” Fitz said, bouncing the thought off Simmons. May and Coulson’s eyes met and they both wondered if their scientists noticed that they were falling back into their stride.

“Or focusing the movement that’s already there, just moving it around.” Simmons looked to May, “Did you see anything that might indicate what was happening?”

May thought for a moment. “She crumbled a pile of rocks.” She said. “A landslide had us stuck in a cave, and Skye got rid of it.”

Fitz and Simmons absorbed the words, thinking it over. “A-and she definitely _crumbled_ the rocks?” Fitz specified. “Didn’t... move them or something.” He took a moment to find the word.

“No.” She shook her head. “They were big rocks, and a second later, just rubble.”

Fitz and Simmons looked to each other, much less awkwardly than they had been lately. “So, seismic energy shifts?” Simmons said.

“Seems most likely, yeah.”

“What does that mean?” Coulson asked.

Simmons answered. She was careful not to use the word ‘dangerous’. “It means that she doesn’t need to be near earth to use these powers.” She said. “She’s controlling vibrations, so the earthquakes are more of a reaction than what she’s actually been doing. If she could focus them sufficiently then she could destroy very small things from a distance but she needs to control it.”

“We’ve been meditating every day, she’s been learning control.” May said, “And when she fell back into it, the earthquakes stopped.”

“So emotional distress set them off.”

“Understandable really.” Fitz mumbled.

“Yeah.” Coulson said, “But what should we do?”

“Be there for her.” The others all turned their gazes to May. She looked away momentarily, not sure if Skye would want the others to know what her father said. “She's scared.”

“Of course she is.” Simmons said softly.

“Yeah.” Fitz said quietly, “She’s changed. It’s scary when you change.”

Simmons drew a breath. She hated being the one to say it, but it needed to be said. “There is the possibility that she could damage the plane. If we were in flight and she caused a large enough shift it could easily knock us out of the air.”

They were all quiet for a moment after that, trying to think of a solution. Obviously they weren’t going to leave Skye behind, but at the same time... “How long will it take to fly home?” Coulson asked.

May’s eyes lit up as the solution was revealed. “Five hours, tops. And Skye just went to sleep.”

“Couldn’t she wake up during the flight?” Simmons asked.

“O-or when we take off?”

“She was stable once she calmed down. Even awake I don’t think she would make a quake bigger than any turbulence we’ve dealt with.” May reminded them. “And she was completely exhausted. You saw her.” She said to Simmons. “She could barely stand.”

Jemma nodded. “That’s true.” She said, “I gave her an antihistamine to help her sleep.”

May nodded. “She’ll be out for at least eight hours.”

“Agreed.” Coulson said, “And Skye sleeps like a rock.” He sighed. “Okay! Let’s pack up and go.”

May stood and walked to her cockpit, selecting the PA to sound only in the garage. “Lock it or lose it.” She said, “Wheels up in ten.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter, and the longest by far. I almost didn't finish it, because my computer was like.  
> 'I see that you've added 1000 words to this story. Haven't saved in two hours. Wouldn't it be a shame if I were to spontaneously shut down?'  
> Bastard laptop. I'm getting a new one in a couple of weeks though, so ha. Wish me luck spending a whole week back home in right-wing normal person central.

Skye woke up to find Coulson seated next to her bed. He had a black eye and a nasty bruise on one cheek, as well as a few gashes. “Hey.” He said softly when he saw her open her eyes. “How are you feeling?”

Skye sat up blearily, one arm tangled in the pyjamas that she hadn’t bothered to change into. “Better.” She really did. “More... better.” She said, voice slightly croaky.

He nodded. “Good. We were all worried about you.”

Skye glanced away momentarily. “May explained?”

Coulson nodded. “She told us that you’ve developed some kind of power. Fitzsimmons think that you can control seismic waves, create and direct them at will.”

Skye rubbed her eyes. “Okay.”

He put one hand on her arm. “It’s okay to be scared.”

She looked at him, brown eyes tired but questioning. “Are you scared?”

Coulson nodded. “A little.” He admitted. “I don’t really have much experience in controlling earthquakes.”

Skye huffed a laugh. “You worked with the Hulk.”

He smiled. “I can call him if you want. He could teach you some yoga.”

“I don’t think May would be too happy with someone else taking over my training.” Skye said, but she was grinning ever so slightly.

“We’ll work this out.” Coulson said, cementing it. “As a team.”

Skye smiled, tears shining in her eyes. “I know.” How could she have thought that they would leave her? Her team was her family, more so than any other family she had ever had. “And sorry in advance for whatever stuff I break.”

“I’ve worked with the Hulk, remember? And Tony Stark.”

“One day you’re gonna have to introduce me.”

“Never.”

Skye pouted and stretched, sitting up straighter. “It’s quiet.” She noted. “Where is everyone?”

“Inside. We’re back at the Playground.”

Her eyes widened in surprise. “Really? How long was I out?”

“Almost fifteen hours.”

Skye balked. “Seriously?”

Coulson shrugged. “When you don’t sleep for almost three days, it’s gonna happen.”

“I guess. The others okay?”

He nodded. “Mostly asleep right now. Not sure if Hunter and Bobbi are actually sleeping though. Mac woke up a couple of hours ago, he’s in the infirmary.”

Skye stopped herself just short of asking after Tripp. It wasn’t that she had forgotten. It was just reflex to check on her friends.

Coulson must have noticed something on her face. “It wasn’t your fault.”

Skye looked down, tears welling up. “I know. But it doesn’t bring him back.”

“I know.” His voice was soft. “We’re going to have a memorial ceremony. Probably next week. I need to contact his family.”

“Oh God.” Skye covered her face with her hands. “Tripp’s family.” It was just a reaffirmation that he was gone. For good. He wasn’t going to smile again or obsess over the Koenigs. He wasn’t going to do everything possible to make their crap food taste a little better, or spar with her.

In a few years she might forget all that. She might forget who he was and just remember Tripp as another agent who had died. Not one of the special few who could make May smile, and Fitz talk, not a member of their weird little family.

Just another body.

“We’ll get through this.” Coulson said, but Skye was legitimately wondering whether she wanted to.

Instead of thinking about it, she let him wrap his arms around her and cried into his shoulder. The mission was over, they were back at the Playground. And Antoine Triplett was dead. It was real. “What are we gonna do?”

Coulson held her close. “Make it worth it.”

For some reason that made her feel a little better.

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

The next few weeks passed in a blur, but somehow seemed to take forever. The memorial ceremony for Tripp was beautiful, and a plaque was placed on the wall in his memory, next to similar ones for Agent Hartley and Idaho.

Fitz and Simmons reactions upon seeing Skye for the first time after finding out about her new power made her want to cry again. But in a good way.

They had almost immediately wanted to take blood tests and hook her up to an MRI, and could they please talk to Director Coulson about getting a CAT scanner, on loan of course, to try to measure Skye’s powers that way? Not for the first time Skye wondered how she could have ever thought that they would leave her.

Her control still wasn’t great. Everyone knew that something was going on, but only Fitzsimmons, Coulson and May knew what it was. Sometimes the quakes were confined to whatever room Skye was in, like in morning training, or too small to notice, unless paying attention.

Enough had been big enough to warrant questioning though. May had passed some off as thunder, which worked well since they were underground and, if caused by nightmares, it was difficult to tell if it was raining outside.

Skye knew that she was improving. Hell, if May was happy then that meant she was a freaking savant. It still wasn’t enough for her though. She wanted to stop losing control now. Every time a tremor shook the base, no matter how small, Skye wondered if anyone was going to get hurt again. Which would sometimes make it even worse.

Her frustration bled over into her training with May. “I don’t want to hurt anyone.”

“You haven’t yet.” May said calmly, her arms following the practised movement of her tai chi.

Skye was moving the same way. “But I could.” Despite the nature of their conversation, Skye was relaxed and, for the most part, calm.

May couldn’t deny that. She had been helping Skye as best she could with this, and she was doing very well suppressing her new power.

Skye called it control, but May could see that it wasn’t that. Maybe it was easier for Skye to lie, or maybe she didn’t know the difference. She was tempted to sit Skye down and make her watch ‘Frozen’ on loop until she got it.

May could often see her younger self in Skye. The mischief, the stubbornness, the loyalty, the hotheadedness. If she was going to draw that kind of comparison, then this was Skye’s Bahrain. And she wasn’t going to let this break Skye like it had broken her. She sighed. “I’ll call someone this afternoon who can help you.” She said, not letting her emotions show in her voice. “He’s a neuroscientist who worked with a lot of gifteds before SHIELD fell. His name’s Andrew Garner.”

Skye frowned, continuing her movements. Something was off in the way May said it. “You sure he’s SHIELD?”

May nodded and offered no more on the topic. Skye, though curious, knew enough not to ask further. “A shrink?”

“Among other things, yes.”

“You sure that’s a good idea?” She asked, “I mean, powers or not, I’m kind of a head doctor’s worst nightmare.”

May smiled ever so slightly. “You don’t know any psychologists. They daydream about our kind of issues.” She needed to remind Skye that she wasn’t alone. That she wasn’t the only one who was a bit messed up.

The form ended and they both dropped their arms. Skye snorted. “Oh my God, I can totally see you in therapy. You’d scare some poor doctor to death.” May rolled her eyes. “I mean, you’d just sit there and-” Skye put on her best ‘May face’, blank and unimpressed.

May swallowed a grin. She didn’t want Skye to know how right she was. She had only seen a psychologist once, after Bahrain, and even then it was only because Fury had insisted. It went as well as could be expected. May hated letting people in now, back then it was just impossible. Especially with a complete stranger.

“And they’d ask something personal and get death glared, then spend the rest of the time frozen in fear.”

May rolled her eyes but said nothing.

Skye grinned. “See, you didn’t say anything, that means I’m right.”

She raised an eyebrow.

“I’m right a lot.”

May rubbed her eyes with one hand, but she was smiling. She was calling Andrew to help Skye, and Skye had somehow made her feel better about it.

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

“May’s calling a shrink for me to talk to.”

Coulson nodded, looking thoughtfully at his cup of coffee. “Do you think it’ll help?”

They were in his office. Coulson was taking an afternoon break and wanted Skye to update him on how she was going. “I don’t know.” Skye admitted, “But May thinks so, and I trust her.”

“Good.” He said. “You’re doing well Skye, you can hold yourself back. The next step will be being able to use it.”

The walls shook heavily, though Skye was gratified to know that it was only the room. She didn’t say anything. The rattling shelf items showed her thoughts on that idea.

Coulson sighed. “I know you’re scared.” He said, “But you won’t be able to control this properly until you can let go of that fear, and accept these powers for what they are.”

“I don’t know if I can accept this.” Skye said, ashamed. “I could kill everyone in this base by _accident.”_

He shrugged, leaning back in his desk chair. “So could Simmons. She breaks the wrong vial in the lab and we could all be goners. Anyone in this base could accidentally reveal our location somehow, Hydra would be here in hours and we’d all be dead.” When Skye looked down, he said, “You’re not as different as you think.”

“I just... I wish I could stop. I really do. If I could get rid of these stupid powers then I would.”

“You can’t though. They’re a part of you now, and trying to hold it all in isn’t going to work. It’s okay to need help.” Coulson took a sip of his coffee, Skye mirroring him. “You know, Audrey told me once that most of any orchestra is in therapy or on beta blockers.”

Skye had to double take. “Heart medication? Why?”

“Nerves. It calms them down. These are professionals at the top of their field Skye, and they use anything they can, because every single night before they go on stage, they’re terrified.”

“You think I should be drugged?” The thought disgusted her.

“No! God no, Skye, I just think you need to accept any help that’s given.” Coulson took a deep breath. “You’ve never seen a psychologist before, right?”

Skye nodded.

“I know you want to control this, but you need to let this person help you. It’s the problem everyone has when they see a shrink, talking to them. I don’t want you to lose this opportunity because you’re proud, and don’t want to let people in.”

Skye absorbed the words, turning them over in her mind. “So you’re saying that I’m like May?”

Coulson grinned. “You said it, not me.”

Skye smiled. She looked up to May, a lot. Being compared to her was nice. “You’re good with this shrink coming in then?”

Coulson nodded. “Of course.”

“Okay, good. May’s already called this Andrew guy, so it’d be kind of hard to- what?” Coulson had choked on his coffee.

“Andrew?!” He said incredulously. “Andrew _Garner?”_

Skye frowned. “Uh, yeah, I think that was his name.” Not sure if she wanted to know, “Why?”

Coulson gaped at her for a moment. Honestly, it felt like his brain had stopped. May had called Andrew? For Skye? A softness took over his features and he sighed softly. “She really loves you.”

Skye balked. “Oh my God, what? Does this guy have fees through the roof or something?”

“Or something.”

“Is he an axe murderer?”

“Not quite.”

Skye groaned, “Just tell me will you? I hate guessing games.”

Coulson paused. He wasn’t sure if May would want Skye to know, but she would find out eventually. He took a deep breath. “Andrew Garner is May’s ex-husband.”

“What?!” The windows shook and a book fell off the shelf. “I didn’t- she never- she was married?!”

He nodded. “For a while, yeah. They separated not long after Bahrain. She’d changed, she said, and they’d been having problems before that. They haven’t spoken in years.”

Skye frowned. “She just called him.”

“Yeah.”

She buried her face in her hands. “Why?”

“He’s good. Very good, one of the best. He’ll be able to help you, and for her it’s worth it.”

Skye groaned. “Why does she _always_ do this? I swear to God, if we were stranded in the Arctic she’d set herself on fire so we could all keep warm.”

“Well that’s a colourful metaphor.” But Coulson couldn’t deny it’s validity.

She crossed her arms and scowled. “I’m gonna do something.” She said firmly.

Okay, that came across as a little terrifying. “Sorry?” If it wasn’t May that they were talking about, Coulson would have been afraid.

Skye sighed. “May’s been... amazing, with everything. Pun not intended by the way. I just wanna do something for her, you know?”

Phil nodded. He knew. He liked to do little things for his old partner, but he never mentioned it, just as she never mentioned the things she did for him. He just made sure they always had her favourite kind of tea. That the next book in the series of whatever she was reading was on hand when she completed it. That there was a sturdy lock on her door for when she needed alone time, but also a peep hole so she could see if she wanted to let someone in. “That sounds like a good idea.”

Skye grinned, pleased. “Cool.” She stood, collecting their empty cups. “I’ll think of something. See you later.” Just as she reached the door her eyes widened and she smiled. “Got it.”

Coulson smiled too. “Good idea?”

“Yep.”

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

When Melinda May entered the kitchen almost two hours later, it looked like a bomb had gone off. A cookie and cupcake bomb.

“What are you doing?” She asked as Skye pulled yet another tray of cookies from the oven.

Skye turned, smile wide and innocent. “Nothing.” She said, tray of warm cookies in her hands. “Cookie?” She held them out.

May looked from Skye to the cookies and back again. “You talked to Coulson then.” Because Skye clearly wasn’t doing ‘nothing’, and she was one of the few people who knew that May had a pretty massive sweet tooth. She still took a cookie. They were chocolate chip after all.

Skye took one herself, put the tray down and sat on one of the tall stools. “You didn’t have to do that you know.”

“I know.” May said, taking a seat as well. “But I wanted to. He’s one of the best, he’s not Hydra, and he’s trustworthy.”

It was not lost on Skye that May refused to refer to Andrew by name. “Still.”

May turned the cookie over in her hands. “I don’t want my feelings to get in the way of you getting help.” She sighed, “You do need help Skye, and I’m not equipt to give it right now.”

Skye said nothing, she just looked at her SO with wide eyes, even though she refused to look at her.

May took a bite of the cookie and raised her eyebrows, impressed. “This is good.”

Skye grinned. “Thanks.” She lowered her voice. “I made some with raisins that we can leave out to traumatise Hunter with.”

May grinned too, evilly. “Perfect.” She finished the rest of the cookie in one bite.

“Oh hey, and I made cupcakes.” Skye indicated to where they were lined up on the bench, each iced, with the words ‘Property of May’ written in icing. “You’re the best SO ever.” She mumbled.

So that she didn’t let on how touched she was, May said, “Well it’s good to know I’m better than Ward.”

Skye nabbed another cookie. “Hey, he’s in second place!” She said, “I mean, he has a _very_ symmetrical face.” She laughed, and was pretty sure she heard May laugh too. Happiness felt different with her powers. It had more sense of control. She could feel the vibrations, but felt no fear that they would escape. She just kind of buzzed.

It was the first time Skye had felt happy enough to set off her powers.

It was the first time that she really believed that everything was going to be okay.


End file.
